Louisiana parents will have from May 22 until June 29 to turn in an application for state aid to send their children to private or religious schools in the fall, the state Department of Education said Tuesday. The agency is moving quickly to roll out a major component of Gov. Bobby Jindal's broader education overhaul.

View full sizeGerald Herbert, The Associated PressGov. Bobby Jindal is applauded by legislators during the opening session in Baton Rouge on March 12.

The Louisiana Legislature signed off on plans to bring vouchers statewide earlier this month, opening up a small pilot program that began in New Orleans to any low-income family in Louisiana with a student attending or slated to attend a school rated C or below. To qualify, families have to show that they earn less than two and a half times the federal poverty level, or no more than $57,625 a year for a family of four.

Given only those restrictions, a broad swath of the state's pupils will be eligible. State officials estimate about 380,000 students from low-income families in Louisiana attend a school rated C or worse.

But they expect that a limited number of seats in private schools will keep the program relatively small at first, perhaps just a few thousand students. There's no way of knowing exactly how many spots will be open. The Department of Education is giving private schools until May 18 to apply to participate in the program. Should demand exceed available seats, students will be picked by lottery.

In New Orleans, about 1,800 students already take advantage of state aid to pay private school tuition. But the new voucher law might give more students in the city access because the pilot was not open to students in C or D schools and had begun accepting only those entering kindergarten through the seventh grade.

Families will be able to download an application from the Department of Education's website, louisianaschools.net, or pick one up at any participating private school.